Tag Archives: Reproduction

The Santa Cruz Island Fox is one of three subspecies of fox removed from the Endangered Species Act list this month. More species protected by the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) have recovered during President Barack Obama’s administration than under all other presidents combined, the US Department of Interior announced on 11 August. And 2016 […]

It may be hard to imagine competing over who gets to kiss a frog, but when it comes to mating, a new study concludes that some frogs have moved out of the pond onto land to make it easier for the male in the pair to give sexual rivals the slip. Biologists have long thought […]

The research, published in the academic journal Scientific Reports, found that sperm quality in a population of stud dogs studied over a 26-year period had fallen significantly. The work has highlighted a potential link to environmental contaminants, after they were able to demonstrate that chemicals found in the sperm and testes of adult dogs — […]

Our ancestors evolved three times faster in the 10 million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs than in the previous 80 million years, according to UCL researchers. The team found the speed of evolution of placental mammals — a group that today includes nearly 5000 species including humans — was constant before the extinction […]

DNA tests have confirmed that one of the three southern rockhopper penguin chicks born at Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan between June 4 and 6 was conceived through artificial insemination. This is the result of a project led by Kaiyukan with the collaboration of Associate Professor KUSUNOKI Hiroshi (Kobe University Graduate School of Agricultural Science). It is […]

Studies in a group of tropical birds have revealed one of the fastest limb muscles on record for any animal with a backbone. The muscle, which can move the wing at more than twice the speeds required for flying, has evolved in association with extravagant courtship displays that involve rapid limb movements, according to a […]

Females can enhance the survival chances of their offspring by mating with multiple males. When it comes to immunological benefits, however, female promiscuity may not provide the young the advantages long suspected, as a research team from Vetmeduni Vienna confirmed. The researchers also provided the first evidence that females are much more susceptible to Salmonella […]

Inbred animals have fewer surviving offspring compared with others, a study of red deer in the wild has found. The insight could aid the conservation and management of endangered populations of animals in which inbreeding carries a high risk of extinction. The findings from a long-term study on a Scottish island shows that hinds whose […]

Intense levels of reproductive competition trigger violent evictions of male and female banded mongooses from their family groups, University of Exeter researchers have found. Dominant animals in this species are unable to stop subordinates breeding, leaving them with no resort except to throw them, kicking and screaming, out of the group. Scientists observed a population […]

Scientists in China have finally succeeded in creating functioning sperm from mice in the laboratory. To accomplish this feat, the researchers coaxed mouse embryonic stem cells to turn into functional sperm-like cells, which were then injected into egg cells to produce fertile mouse offspring. The work, reported February 25 in Cell Stem Cell, provides a […]

The Y chromosome is a symbol of maleness, present only in males and encoding genes important for male reproduction. But a new study has shown that live mouse progeny can be generated with assisted reproduction using germ cells from males which do not have any Y chromosome genes. This discovery adds a new light to […]

High levels of vitamin D are linked to improved fertility and reproductive success, a study of wild sheep has found. The study, carried out on a remote Hebridean island, adds to growing evidence that vitamin D — known as the sunshine vitamin — is associated with reproductive health. Experts hope that further studies will help […]

Most animals, including humans, have two copies of their genome — the full set of instructions needed to make every cell, tissue, and organ in the body. But some animals carry more than two complete sets of the genome, referred to as polyploidy. Biologists have long wondered whether these extra chromosomes help or hinder those […]

Using genetic methods, scientists of the Senckenberg Research Institute in Dresden discovered that the introduced pond slider is capable of reproducing in Europe even outside of the Mediterranean region. The turtle, originally from North America, poses a significant threat to the native turtle fauna and, according to the authors of the study recently published in […]

International scientists set up a rescue plan for the last three northern white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) on Earth. The goal is to use the remaining three rhinos and tissue samples from already dead individuals to multiply them into a viable self-sustaining population. For this purpose, scientists apply recent findings in reproduction and stem cell […]

For the first time, a litter of puppies was born by in vitro fertilization, thanks to work by Cornell University researchers. The breakthrough, described in a study to be published online Dec. 9 in the journal Public Library of Science ONE, opens the door for conserving endangered canid species, using gene-editing technologies to eradicate heritable […]

In the animal world, if several males mate with the same female, their sperm compete to fertilize her limited supply of eggs. Longer sperm often seem to have a competitive advantage. However, a study conducted by researchers from the Universities of Zurich and Stockholm now reveals that the size of the animals also matters. The […]

A groundbreaking new study shows that cougars, also known as mountain lions and pumas, are likely to recolonize portions of habitat in the middle part of the United States within the next 25 years. It is the first study to show the potential “when and where” of the repopulation of this controversial large predator. The […]

The recent birth of two test tube foals in the UK, as part of a collaborative project conducted by leading fertility experts, could help benefit rare breed conservation and horses with fertility problems. The births mark the successful completion of a three-year program, the aim of which was to establish and offer advanced breeding methods […]

Women who have ovarian tissue removed, stored and then transplanted back to them at a later date have a good chance of successfully becoming pregnant, according to a review of the largest series of ovarian transplants performed worldwide. The study, which is published in Human Reproduction, one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals, shows […]

This just in from the pandas nestled in a remote corner of China: Their influence spans the globe. In this week’s international journal Ecology and Society, sustainability scholars from Michigan State University apply a new integrated framework to the decades of work they’ve done to understand how pandas and local people in pandas’ fragile environment […]

The European mink (Mustela lutreola) is one of the most endangered mammals in Europe. The reasons for its decline are the destruction of its habitat in riparian areas, competition with the alien American mink and historically, extensive hunting. The European mink is often confused with the American mink (Neovison vison, previously Mustela vison), which has […]

Why aren’t there more lions? That was what puzzled McGill PhD student Ian Hatton, when he started looking at the proportion of predators to prey across dozens of parks in East and Southern Africa. In this case, the answer had nothing to do with isolated human hunters. The parks were teeming with potentially tasty treats […]

New research shows rank matters more than paternity for males’ relationships with infants. Being the daddy isn’t important for male gorillas when it comes to their relationships with the kids; it’s their rank in the group that makes the difference, says new research. Researchers say this supports the theory that for most of their evolution, […]

A female Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) — potentially the last female of her species — has been artificially inseminated. The procedure, which brought together top scientists from China, Australia and the United States, provides a ray of hope in a continuing effort to save the world’s most endangered turtle. The pair at the […]

Scientists from Berlin successfully produced embryos from African lions via assisted reproduction. What is genuinely new is the fact that they used immature eggs that were retrieved from African lionesses. After artificial maturation these eggs were injected with lions’ sperm, previously stored in a cryobank. To surprise of the scientists from the Leibniz Institute for […]

A feat achieved for the first time in humans could be a step towards a cure for infertility. Israeli and UK researchers have created human sperm and egg precursor cells in a dish, starting from a person’s skin cells. The achievement is a small step towards a treatment for infertility, although one that could face […]

Shifts in the timing and duration of ice cover, especially the possible lengthening of ice-free periods, may impact polar bears under projected warming before the end of the 21st century, according to a study published November 26, 2014 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Stephen Hamilton from University of Alberta and colleagues. Sea ice […]

A population of endangered giant tortoises, which once dwindled to just over a dozen, has recovered on the Galapagos island of Española, a finding described as “a true story of success and hope in conservation” by the lead author of a study published Oct. 28. Some 40 years after the first captive-bred tortoises were reintroduced […]

In 2012, biologists at Denali National Park and Preserve noted a drop in wolf sightings following the death of a breeding female from a pack that lived along the Denali Park Road. This was one of several instances where the death of an individual wolf from legal trapping or hunting sparked widespread attention in recent […]